


Royaltystuck

by whenyouheldtheknife



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Hierarchy, Language, M/M, Multi, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Romance, Royalty, based on blood color, basically on hold, caste system, i'm reorganizing my stuff, not all ships listed will be canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-06
Updated: 2013-05-06
Packaged: 2017-12-10 15:04:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/787380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenyouheldtheknife/pseuds/whenyouheldtheknife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your smirk widened. “How do you feel about the stairs, Pyrope?” you asked, before hoisting your partner-in-crime up, skirts and all, and traipsing rapidly but quietly down the stairs. Her nails were digging a little into your shoulders, but you liked it; you liked the warmth of her, and to have that thought made you set her down rather abruptly once you got down the stairs without any injury.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vriska: Birth of Team Scourge

**Author's Note:**

> 1) so i'm reposting what i have so far of royaltystuck even though it's kind of been shoved by the wayside just because i want it all in one place  
> 2) it's still an idea that floats around daily in my head but i'm just having a hard time getting the ball rolling on it which is why i'm still making it available to be read uwu

The party was dragging on forever. You glanced at the tall grandfather clock propped up against the opposite wall and sighed audibly. It had only been three minutes since you last looked at it. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t like parties; it was that you didn’t see the point in attending them when there were so many other things that had to be done. You leaned against the wall behind you, not caring if your too-poofy dress wrinkled or creased and fixed your eyes stubbornly on that clock. Maybe if you stared at it long enough, your friends would show up sooner. 

Unfortunately for you, your older sister chose this moment to come and say hello to you. “Vriska!” she exclaimed, her ever-present smile already making you feel sick. “Why won’t you come out to the floor with me? I’m going to make a speech and I would love you to stand up there with me.” 

If there was one thing your older sister was good at, it was talking. “Aranea, I’ve got too much going on tonight to deal with your speeches,” you told her, flipping your long black hair over your shoulders when you said this. 

The smile on your sister’s face fell a little, but she quickly replaced it with a look of disapproval. “I don’t think you should go around with your gang, Vriska. Don’t you see how much danger you’re all putting yourselves in?” 

You were about to tell Aranea to mind her own business when you spotted your best friend across the room. “That’s the point, Aranea. Later!” And then you were walking across the room to your friend, calling, “Pyrope!” to catch her attention. 

Your friend turned her head to the sound of your voice and smiled. “Vriska, is that you, smelling as secretive as ever?” she called back, a grin spreading across her face. She began to use her walking stick to help her guide herself across the room, but you couldn’t let yourself watch such a pathetic display. In another moment you were by her side, hooking her arm through yours. “How do you always know when I’m plotting?” you asked. Terezi always greeted you with weird sayings like that; ever since she lost her sight in that accident she would always say that she smelled or tasted things, rather than saying that she saw them. You knew it was a pathetic coping mechanism, but you secretly sort of liked it. 

Terezi rolled her eyes. “Can’t you ask difficult questions? You’re always plotting something, Serket.” 

You laughed at her comment, even though it made you feel uneasy. You prided yourself on your aloofness and your ability to look and act as though you didn’t care about anything but yourself, and to have someone be able to see you the way that Terezi could see you set your nerves on edge. “When are the others getting here?” you asked, trying to change the subject. 

As you let go of Terezi to let her steady herself by the wall, she shrugged. “I’m lower on the chain than you are, so you tell me.” 

‘The others” referred to your mutual friends, all of whom were supposed to be here tonight. They were all higher in the hierarchy than you both were. Terezi was the lowest of the royalty, being the sole daughter of a lord and a lady. Of course, your position as the second daughter of the duke and duchess was not much better. 

“They need to get here soon, because I have so much information to tell. I have all of the information. All of it,” you informed Terezi, tapping your foot impatiently as you scanned the crowd. 

Terezi suddenly stood a little straighter and turned her head to the side, causing you to follow suit. “I hear an angry Ampora headed our way,” she told you, relaxing once she had figured out what the sound was. 

Sure enough, Eridan Ampora stomped over to where the two young women were. “I’m betrothed,” he announced, no preamble to it at all. You really hated this guy, but he was a good fighter and that made you grudgingly respect him. 

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry than your love life, Ampora,” you cut in. “Where’s Makara?” 

Ampora sighed and gestured vaguely towards where he had just been. “Somewhere over there. I ain’t too concerned with him.” 

“Who taught you how to talk, a peasant?” you asked, rolling your eyes at his childish manner of speech. Ampora had the worst speech patterns of anyone you knew. Nevertheless, you looked towards where he had gestured and you easily spotted Makara, as he was generally taller than the rest of the guests at the party. He caught your eye and you motioned him over. 

“What are we all doing over on here?” he asked you once he had ambled his way over, his usual complacent smile on his face. 

It reminded you of Aranea’s stupidly ceaseless smile and you scanned the room, noting that she was currently occupied with some guests in the corner. Good. You didn’t want her to meddle in your business. “I heard on the wind that there’s going to be a break-in tonight,” you said lowly, a smile coming over your face, a special smile you reserved for when you were planning something especially good. Your friends moved in closer, eager to hear what this break-in entailed. 

“Who? When?” Terezi asked, an excited grin on her face that mirrored your own. 

“I didn’t hear who, but I know they’re already in the building,” you replied, “and I have a plan to stop them dead in their tracks.” 

Ampora smiled easily. “Finally, something worth doing around here.” 

You returned his smile and then began to give out orders. “Good, you feel the same. Then Ampora, you’ll go with Makara—“ 

“Why do I always have to go with Makara?” Ampora interrupted, whining and frowning now. “No offense to you, Gamz, but it’s the principle of the thing, really.” 

“Because I can’t stand you and you wouldn’t be able to be with Pyrope,” you answered matter-of-factly, and that shut him up rather quickly. “Now, like I was saying. Ampora, you’ll go with Makara. You two will leave after Pyrope and I do, and you’ll scout out the west wing. Pyrope and I will leave in a minute and we’ll scout out the east wing.” You paused, looking at the face of each of your teammates, pleased to find the appropriate level of seriousness on each of them. “Good.” You smiled and looked at Terezi. “Pyrope, we’ll go now. Ampora and Makara, you’ll follow three minutes after and go the opposite direction.” 

Terezi’s grin widened and she clutched the head of her walking stick more tightly with excitement. “Come on, Serket.” 

You smirked. “Take my arm, you’ll need it so you don’t rely on that pathetic stick,” you said, offering her your arm, which she took. You glanced around before halfway tugging Terezi out of the room and into the hall, your footsteps falling silently on the stone floor. 

You made it to the end of the hall and Terezi whispered, “If I were breaking in somewhere, I’d break in near the ground floor and work my way up.” 

Your smirk widened. “How do you feel about the stairs, Pyrope?” you asked, before hoisting your partner-in-crime up, skirts and all, and traipsing rapidly but quietly down the stairs. Her nails were digging a little into your shoulders, but you liked it; you liked the warmth of her, and to have that thought made you set her down rather abruptly once you got down the stairs without any injury. “Do you hear anything?” you asked, your voice barely audible to yourself. But you knew that Terezi could hear it. 

Terezi paused, her head cocked to the side, and then she slowly nodded that, yes, she could hear something. “There are two people talking at the end of the hall,” she whispered. She gripped her cane tighter and, with the confidence that having a source to go to gave her, began to make her way down the hall. 

You had to stop for a moment and pull up your dress, sliding the material and your underskirts up your legs, pausing when you felt the sheathed dagger that you had had strapped to your leg since you woke up this morning. You slid the trusty weapon from its sheath and joined Terezi quickly. 

“Was that a rustling of skirts I heard back there?” she asked quietly, and you could see the shadow of her playful grin. 

“Why, did you like what you saw?” you retorted, knowing that that would stop Terezi from making comments. 

The rest of the creeping up the hall was silent, punctuated only by the voices of what were undeniably two intruders, one a young male and one a young female, growing louder the closer you got. You both stopped walking at the same time, knowing that here, surprise was a necessity. “Three,” you whispered, “two, one.” 

You held back while Terezi slipped silently from the shadow and then, with a sudden shout meant to startle her opponent, began attacking the young male, who was the louder of the two. The female, quick to react, pulled her fist back as if to pull a punch on Terezi when she was occupied, and you chose that moment to react. “No you don’t,” you muttered, slipping out and sneaking up behind the girl, clocking her over the head with the handle of your dagger, efficiently dazing her for a moment. You shoved her aside and she ran off. “Ha, coward,” you said, grinning, and then a grunt of pain returned your attention to Terezi. 

“You’d hit a blind girl?” she asked her opponent, and he growled something out that made her lunge forward, drubbing him soundly over the head with her cane. But it did nothing to prevent him from striking forward and sweeping her legs out from underneath her. 

Enraged that this opponent would use such low tactics (that was your job, thank you very much), you darted forward and, as Terezi got up, you both struck at the same time, her cane catching him in the chest and knocking the wind out of him as your dagger cut his shoulder. 

“Royal scum,” he hissed, and you thought you detected a faint lisp as he turned tail and ran, his hand cupped over his freely bleeding shoulder. 

You couldn’t help but let out a whoop of victory. “Team Scourge, bitch!” you cried out, uncaring that the use of such language was for those beneath you because in that moment when you and Terezi struck as one, you felt like you belonged somewhere. 

Terezi turned to look at you. “Team Scourge?” she asked. After a pause, she nodded and smiled. “I like that. It fits.” 

You returned the grin, even though she couldn’t see it. “Let’s go check on the boys,” you said, and you took Terezi’s arm once more. 


	2. Terezi: Revival of Color

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You breathed in deeply and could suddenly smell an overwhelming amount of red. This had never happened to you outside of your dreams before. Maybe it was because you were trying to get over the shock of having been almost attacked? You wondered if maybe he was wearing something red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) writing terezi is really hard sometimes because of the whole blind thing unu  
> 2) this is literally my first attempt at writing as her that's being published  
> 3) oh and if you don't see any updates on this for a while then that's normal

You were having one of those dreams again. 

The world around you was dark, as it had been for almost two years now, but there were splashes of vivid color that lit up the darkness around you sporadically. 

“Breathe in,” an echoing voice commanded you, and you complied without a second thought. 

As soon as you breathed in, you could smell the colors of your surroundings rushing up at you. There were greens that smelled like peppermint and blues that smelled like saltwater and reds that smelled like cherries. Red was your favorite; you loved how it smelled. You could almost taste the flavor of the sweet cherries popping on your tongue like edible fireworks. 

“Can you find me?” the voice asked, and its breath smelled like brown burnt rubber. 

You wrinkled your nose a little but nodded anyway, sniffing around for the source of the voice. There were so many good things to smell: fresh melons, bananas – oh! There it was. Your second-favorite color, teal, which tasted like that one herbal drink your parents made you try right after you’d lost your sight, the one that had tasted like a tropical island without all the sand and sea salt. You knew, instinctively, that it was the body of the creature that had been speaking to you. 

You ran up and wrapped your arms around said creature, running your palms over the rough scales and wondering what on earth you were touching. “I found you, Miss Fruitydrink!” you exclaimed, grinning widely at yourself for your own success. 

“Miss Pyrope, please wake, you’re speaking nonsense again,” someone else said, and with a start you sat up in bed, your eyes flying open despite the fact that it did not help you see where your servant was standing. 

“Good, now that you’re awake I can dress you,” she said, a certain briskness to her voice, and you frowned. 

Slumping back against the pillows, you asked, “Can’t I just go back to sleep?” You knew that your servant wouldn’t allow for that, though. She was probably going to grab your shoulders and haul you up, even though you’d told her multiple times not to do that without warning unless it was an emergency. 

True to your predictions, she did just that, and you winced. You were still a little sore from how you’d fallen last night when that idiot had kicked your legs out from under you. 

“Something aching you, Miss Pyrope?” 

You shook your head. “No,” you lied, “your hands are cold.” 

The woman tutted. “You’ll have to put up with it. Up with you, now, you’ve places to be today.” 

\- - -

“Places to be” turned out to be the King’s castle. Your mother needed to meet with the man to discuss some legal matters. You found the business that your mother did to all be extremely fascinating, but the woman refused to allow you to attend any meetings with her. She used to, though, before you went blind. Now, you’re lucky if she tells you what the meeting is about. 

“How long are we going to be here?” you asked, looking up at where you presumed your mother’s face to be as you walked down the long entrance hall with her. Some habits were impossible to stop, with or without your sight. 

She sighed and sped up a little, her steps noisy on the stone floor. “I don’t know, Terezi. There was a break-in last night and the king wants me present for the meeting he’s holding with a few other council members.” She paused, and you knew than that she thought that she had told you too much. Little did she know that you, the daughter she presumed was now helpless due to her disability, had helped to rid the castle of at least two of the intruders. 

Your mother began to speak again, though only to say, “It would be fair to assume that I will be occupied for most of the day. But you know your way around well enough to keep yourself busy, don’t you? Or should I send for one of the King’s servants to escort you?” There was a near-silent rustle of fabric that meant that your mother had turned her head to look at you. 

You ducked your head, letting your black hair swing in front of your face so that she couldn’t see how angry you were. You had always had a hard time concealing your emotions when you were angry or particularly upset, and nothing irked you more than when someone – especially if that someone was your mother, for crying out loud – assumed you were weak just because you couldn’t see. 

After a moment you looked back up at your mother, defiantly, daring her to look into the eyes that you knew were white as a blank page of paper. “I can see just fine, thank you.” She clicked her tongue in disapproval and stopped walking, forcing you to stop as well. “Terezi, you can’t honestly believe that you – “ she cut off abruptly. The two of you had stopped in front of a door and it was now opening. 

You could have told your mother that you had heard someone walking towards you both from the room behind the door, but it was rude to interrupt, was it not. 

“Lady Pyrope,” the deep voice of a male greeted your mother. That was King Peixes himself; this was serious if he had come to the door. A rustling of skirts meant that your mother had gathered herself and dropped into a low curtsy. You followed suit, trying your best not to crinkle the fabric of your own dress. 

“My King,” your mother replied, and you both straightened at about the same time. “Terezi, I will retrieve you once I am finished.” With that, she was gone and the door was shut behind her. 

\- - -

Somehow, you’d managed to end up in a part of the castle that you hadn’t previously been in. You paused and leaned against the wall, the dragon-shaped head of your cane clutched tightly in one hand. You were starting to consider searching for help when you heard someone behind you trying to sneak up on you. 

You kept your body relaxed and your face clueless and confused as they tiptoed closer. Just when they were within reach of your cane, you struck, holding your skirt up in one hand so that it wouldn’t get in the way as you quickly turned on the balls of your feet and swept the would-be attacker’s feet out from underneath them. 

“Ow!” a definitely male voice exclaimed, and you heard him fall with a thud and clink that sounded suspiciously like armor. “Do you mind?” he asked, irritated. “I’m trying to run an errand here.” 

“Do you mind not sneaking up on me?” you returned sharply. You breathed in deeply and could suddenly smell an overwhelming amount of red. This had never happened to you outside of your dreams before. Maybe it was because you were trying to get over the shock of having been almost attacked? You wondered if maybe he was wearing something red. “State your business,” you demanded of the boy, placing your cane in front of you and leaning forward slightly, resting both hands on its head. 

“David Strider, training to be in the king’s guard, and all right, my errand isn’t an errand, I’m trying to visit my friend John Egbert, who works in the kitchens as an apprentice chef,” he said, and you could tell from his manner of speech that although he was educated, that he wasn’t as educated as you were. 

You digested this information carefully, inhaling slowly and silently through your nose. Wow, you could smell almost everything about this boy. He wore a bright shade of cherry red, pegging him as a squire, had corn hair, and was telling the truth. Truth, oddly enough, smelled like lilies. 

This, you were certain, had never happened outside of your dreams. You remained calm, though, and asked, “Why were you trying to ambush me if your intentions were so innocent?” Even though you knew this Strider boy was innocent, you wanted to push his buttons a little. 

“You looked busy. I was trying to be quiet.” He sounded flippant, especially for addressing someone who was clearly above him in the hierarchy, but for some reason this didn’t bother you as much as it would have bothered some of your friends. Vriska came to mind briefly; if she had met this boy she would have engaged him in combat right away if he so much as looked at her in a disrespectful way. 

“Fair enough,” you asserted, nodding once. “If you’ll excuse me, Strider,” you said, using your cane to feel out the ground around you as you walked so that you wouldn’t hit him again. 

He had almost let you gotten far enough past him where you could have ignored him when he asked, an undeniable curiosity in his voice, “Where does a blind girl learn to fight in a dress like that?” 

You paused, then turned back around, hoping that you were facing him. You grinned. “Walk me back to the King’s meeting room and perhaps I’ll tell you.” It was an offer that you were willing to make and that you were assuming he would be willing to accept. Yes, he had said that he was going to meet his friend, but the curiosity that he had let slip through had showed you his hand. You could almost feel his thoughts processing, smooth and concise like clockwork, as he weighed his choices. His curiosity was certainly great enough – you could smell it from here – and the only logical way to dissipate it was if he were to accompany you. 

“I accept,” he said a moment later. You heard him walk forward and when he reached you, he took your arm without hesitation, tucking your hand into the crook of his elbow. He was warm. 

“A gentleman, are we, Strider?” you asked him as the two of you began the slow walk back to the meeting room. 

He chuckled quietly. “If you say so, miss…” he paused, and you supplied after a moment, “Pyrope. Terezi Pyrope.” 

“Oh.” He paused for a second, clearly thinking about your status, if he knew it. After a few moments, though, he spoke again. “So Miss Pyrope, what’s a girl like you doing knowing how to fight?” he asked, the grin in his voice evident. 

You laughed. You liked this kid. 


End file.
